A reduction in the capacity of its two intake pipes made it difficult for the Ohio American Water Co. in Ashtabula, Ohio, to meet customer demand, and the summer peak period was approaching.The plant maintenance supervisor called Pat Murphy, president of Lake Erie Diving Inc. in Painesville, Ohio, to determine the cause of the reduction. The commercial diving company specializes in long-distance pipe and tunnel inspections and cleaning.Together, the 2,800-foot-long, 24-inch cast iron pipe and 3,000-foot-long, 30-inch reinforced concrete pipe draw 9 mgd from Lake Erie. Using divers to inspect such lengths of small-diameter pipes is not possible. Murphy called
